


Following Him

by miss_aphelion



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Slash, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2014-07-15
Packaged: 2018-02-08 14:30:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1944693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_aphelion/pseuds/miss_aphelion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky gets his memories back, and he's broken, and guilt-ridden, and probably better off dead. But he's still Bucky where it counts, and he's always cared more about Steve than himself. So he pushes down all his grief and all his rage so that he can get back to the only mission he's ever had that mattered—keeping Steve Rogers safe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  
_"How about you? Are you ready to follow 'Captain America' into the jaws of death?"_

_"Hell, no. That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight, I'm following him."_

Steve knows he's gotten reckless in his search, but he can't afford to stop for a moment. He has read the file Natasha gave to him countless times, front to back, and he knows what happens the moment you let the Winter Soldier out of your sights. 

He disappears. 

Even in all those sealed files, all those dirty secrets they had let loose on the world, there is no single solid mention of the Winter Soldier. They do not even mention, except once or twice in passing, Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. 

Stark has been following his trail through 47% matches on his facial recognition program and aliases that might have been used by the Soviets at some point, which means they have mostly been searching through chance and guess-work and Jarvis's estimations. There is no tangible trace of him they can find, but they do find what he's left behind. 

He leaves a trail of burnt out HYDRA bases behind him like breadcrumbs, with the scientists and guards all laid out dead on the floors, lined up one after another like you do with casualties in a war. They all went down with a single bullet, probably didn't even know what hit them. This is how Bucky used to kill, before he was given all those HYDRA toys. A silent little tug on a trigger as he looks through a scope. 

They always get there too late, and there is never any evidence left behind. The cameras are all disabled, their videos erased. The data banks cleaned so well even Tony can't find a shred of information left. 

"Okay, look, so I'm having a bit of trouble pinning him down. That's not necessarily a bad thing," Stark says. 

"You want to explain that one to me?" Steve asks. 

"I read the file," Stark says with a shrug, his curious eyes still half on his screens. "This guy's brain should be dribbling out his ears. He should be an empty, dangerous shell, right? What is the Winter Soldier without orders? He's a weapon, he's not anything. He'd have turned up by now." 

"Tony, he's not—" Steve starts, outrage building up inside of him. Tony just waves him off like he's being ridiculous.

"I _know_ he's not," he interrupts. "That's my _point_. This guy we're chasing, he's smart and skilled enough to stay off even my radar. And while, yeah, super assassin with a rather terrifying skill set is a bit horrifying on the one hand, on the other, hey, he's not falling apart. There's something there, because he's not going back to them, he's taking them out. They tried, but they didn't break him."

Steve wonders if that's necessarily true. He's seen Bucky broken before, even though he'd been the only one to notice it then. Most people get hurt and they get quiet, or they get loud, but Bucky has never really been like anyone else. Even before the war, even when their problems were so much simpler, he'd been just the same: the worse things got, the bigger Bucky's smile would become. Steve still remembers one particular hospital stay where he'd been certain he was dying. Bucky's smile then had been blinding, and Steve's still pretty sure it's the only reason he survived. 

Now he keeps thinking back to all of Bucky's good-natured teasing after the first time he'd rescued him from HYDRA. He remembers him wise-cracking as he hung onto that railing across from the Red Skull, not even able to stand but his mouth still working just fine. 

Bucky's always been better than him at pretending. HYDRA had wasted him, using him as though he was nothing more than a gun. He grins sadly at the thought, because he knows why they kept the Winter Soldier under such tight wraps. They were rightly terrified of him—not of the Soldier, but of Bucky Barnes. If they'd let him stay out too long, Bucky would start dragging himself back out. 

There's a list of confirmed kills in that file. 52. But there's a list of HYDRA casualties too—handlers that had handled him wrong, teams that had tried to take the Soldier back before he was ready to go. He'd killed 68 HYDRA soldiers over 70 years. The cause was listed as 'friendly fire,' but everyone knew the Winter Soldier didn't make mistakes. 

"Everyone makes mistakes," Tony assures him, and hands him a photo print out. 

The man in the photo is wearing a ball cap and a heavy dark grey coat. He's got the beginnings of a beard, but the eyes give him away. They're caught right in the camera's gaze. 

"Where is he?" Steve asks, swallowing hard. He does some quick calculations, tries to figure out what he'll need to pack. What he needs to bring. Something to subdue him, if necessary, but nothing that will hurt. Bucky's been hurt enough. 

"He's here," Tony says after a moment. "Or, close enough. Went to visit the Smithsonian, of all places. Guess he was feeling nostalgic." 

"Okay, that's good. I can be there in an hour." He looks back over at Tony. "But you're wrong, you know." 

"It's him," Tony insists, frowning a little as he grabs the photo back to look at it again. 

"Yeah, but it wasn't a mistake," Steve says, as he turns to leave. "He let that camera catch him on purpose." 

Steve knows he did, because he knows what this is. This is Bucky issuing a challenge: _I'm right here,_ he's saying. _Your move._


	2. Chapter 2

Sam appears just as Steve is trying to slip out of Stark Tower. Steve pulls to a reluctant stop, not really that surprised that Tony has obviously gone running straight to Sam. 

"So, where we headed?" Sam asks. He grins that honest grin of his, and it's strange how he can do that. He's sincere even when he's re-working the facts to make them seem like something else. Sam knows very well that if Steve had wanted him along he wouldn't be sneaking out the back. 

"Not this time," Steve says. "I'm going alone." 

"That's not actually one of the choices," Sam says, his tone kept pleasantly light, as though they're discussing what to have for lunch. "You can either go with me, or you can have me following you the whole way there. I'm really hoping you take me up on option one, because we both know I'm crap at the spy stuff." 

"I don't need back up," Steve assures him. "This isn't like the other times. Bucky wants to meet me." 

"Yeah," Sam says slyly. "That actually concerns me more than if we just following another one of Stark's dead ends." 

"If Bucky wanted me dead, I'd be dead," Steve reminds him. 

"And what if it isn't Bucky that's waiting for you?" Sam asks. "Cause if you ask me, this seems like a trap." 

"I didn't ask you," Steve snaps. Sam's expression goes shuttered, and Steve takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. But you're still staying here." 

"We're in this together, remember?" Sam asks. 

Steve considers Sam one of his closest friends, along with the rest of the Avengers. But he cannot even put into words what Bucky is to him—he cannot explain properly the connection they have or the things he is willing to do to get it back. 

"This is between me and Bucky," he says after a moment. "I need to do this alone. I can't risk him getting nervous if he sees you and running again. He ever decides to really disappear, and I don't think I'll be able to find him. This might be my only chance." 

"If he did go to ground again, if he dropped off the map," Sam says quietly. "You'd still keep looking, wouldn't you? You'd never stop." 

"I won't rest until I have him back," Steve says. "Until I know he's safe." 

"I don't think there is any such thing as safe for men like us," Sam says. "Just be careful. I know you'd let yourself die for the guy, but you're no good to him that way, you got it? You'd be no good to anyone." 

Steve does not try to convince him that Bucky will not hurt him. It would seem insane, as far as arguments go, considering that no one has come closer to killing him than the Winter Soldier. But Bucky would die before he ever hurt Steve, and the rest don't understand because they don't know him. 

Bucky is worth dying for, and Steve will lay his life down at his feet if that's what it takes. 

"I'll keep that in mind," is all Steve actually says, before getting on his bike. He takes off for the Smithsonian well above the speed limit, but he doesn't slow down, or look back. 

He knows Sam or Tony or both of them will be following. He just needs to get enough of a head start that he can reach Bucky before they show up.

\- - - - - 

He follows the now well-known path to the Captain America exhibit. He can hear the recording overhead speaking about his life by rote. He wonders what Bucky felt looking at all of this—if he could remember, or if he felt like a tourist, just another bystander reading about the long dead.

He swallows hard, his palms feeling sweaty from nerves. Bucky is not at the Bucky Barnes exhibit, but his eyes stare back at him from the screen. Bucky probably would have loved this. He would have laughed, and pretended to be upset that Steve's exhibit was bigger than his.

He doesn't know what the Winter Soldier might have made of it.

"Where are you?" he whispers. 

He knows that photo was an invitation, but if Bucky doesn't want to meet him here, then where? 

That's when he sees it. The door to the roof is just slightly off center, with an entrance ticket taped discreetly over the latch. Of course, he thinks, as he moves towards it. 

Bucky's always sought to fight his battles on higher ground. He pulls off the entrance ticket and lets the door click locked behind him, before heading up the stairs. He can feel his heart pounding in his ears, and he doesn't know if he's heading towards an enemy or a friend. 

He steps out onto the roof and it's empty. He walks forward in frustration, checking around the doorway, but there's no sign of the Winter Soldier, or of Bucky Barnes. 

Then he hears his voice. 

"Here I put on my Sunday best, and you're not even wearing your costume. Least you coulda done, Steve, to see an old friend." 

Steve turns around in disbelief. Bucky is leaning up against the side of the exit, grinning wryly. Steve has no idea where he's come from, because he wasn't there a moment ago. He's so stunned at first it takes a minute to realize what Bucky's even said. 

His costume. Bucky always called it a costume, and never a uniform. Always got a kick out of it, right from the start. Steve's never been so grateful to be teased in his life. 

"Bucky," he breathes, and it sounds sort of like a prayer. If Bucky notices the reverence, he shrugs it off. 

"Nearly got yourself killed in Berlin, you know that?" he asks, as though this meeting is not strange. Like they've just been on separate missions, and now they're back together again. Like nothing at all has changed. "Took out three snipers before they got you. Three, Steven. You were just wandering around out in the open, like you can't get hurt—" 

"Berlin," Steve repeats. He remembers Berlin. They'd been too late. They'd missed Bucky by two days. He feels sick at the thought that Bucky had been there the whole time, covering him just like old times. He can't seem to do anything but fail, when it comes to keeping Bucky safe. 

"Yeah, Berlin. I leave you to your own devices for a few decades and you lose all sense of self preservation," he chides. 

"I've actually only been awake two years," Steve reminds him. 

"Well, there's no excuse for you then, is there?" Bucky asks, and flashes him a wide grin. 

Steve can feel his heart stall out and then start up twice as fast as it should, and he swallows hard. Because that's Bucky in that smile, one hundred percent, in every last curve of those lips. He can see no trace of the Winter Soldier left in his blue eyes. 

He's cut his hair too, just a little shorter than he'd worn it in the war. It looks clean and soft and Steve has to remind himself he needs to breathe. He's been trying to find Bucky since he lost him again, and he's been so worried about the thought of him out there alone with no idea what to do or where to go.

And here Bucky is, showing up again out of nowhere, looking like he fits into this world even better than him. Steve checks him over carefully for any sign of something amiss. He's wearing brand new motorcycle boots with a pair of torn jeans tucked down inside of them, and a sleek, fitted leather jacket over a dark navy button down. He looks like he just walked off one of those shiny new color magazines. 

Steve can even see the edge of a Starkphone stuck down in his front pocket. The only thing out of place about him are the leather gloves it's just a little too warm for. 

"Well, this got awkward," Bucky says, rocking back on his heels. "Aren't you at least going to offer to buy me a drink?" 

Steve pushes forward without thinking, throwing himself into Bucky's arms. Bucky catches him just the way he always has, laughing a little as he wraps his arms back around him. "You know, your tackle hugs were a bit easier to withstand when you weren't built like a tank." 

Steve just shuts his eyes, letting Bucky's voice wash over him. "How?" he asks, as he holds on as tightly as he can. He tries to tell himself to loosen his hold, but he doesn't quite know how. 

"I remembered," Bucky says after a strange pause. "I remembered you. And then I remembered me." 

Steve didn't realize until just now how much he's missed the sound of Bucky's voice. The Winter Soldier's level, inflectionless words had done more harm than good. He hadn't sounded a thing like Bucky, really, except a little bit there at the end, when he'd been so desperate he was nearly screaming. 

"You cut your hair," Steve says, when he finally lets himself let go and step back. He knows it's a strange thing to fixate on, but it's caught him completely off guard. He's not your friend, everyone has been telling him. The way Bucky had looked before, with that lank hair in his cold blue eyes, Steve could almost believe it. It had allowed him a modicum of distance. 

A simple little hair cut and shave and he knows he's lost all perspective. He's put himself completely in Bucky's hands. It's too exhausting to try and keep up his guard against _Bucky_.

"Yeah," Bucky says, sounding a bit sheepish. "Had to keep the disguise for the Smithsonian cameras. Couldn't have people thinking I was there as a Bucky Barnes impersonator, asking for autographs. But the beard thing's just never done it for me, you know? And the long hair was a bit much. I mean, it was alright when I was a cold-blooded assassin, but it was getting to where I couldn't grab a coffee without everyone looking like I was gonna kill 'em." 

Steve loses his breath like he's been punched in the gut. The casual reference to his time as the Winter Solider is the first sign he's had that something's very wrong here—for a little while there, he'd been able to pretend, if only in his own mind, that Bucky had reappeared to him as unharmed as he'd been before the fall. 

"Don't say that," he says. "Don't joke about that." 

"You're right," Bucky says evenly, as he looks away, "I'm sorry." 

Steve thinks he means it, but there's still something off. He suspects the only reason that Bucky is sorry is because it upset _Steve_.

"It wasn't you," Steve insists.

"I know that," Bucky says dismissively. "I can barely remember the last, god, seventy years?" He laughs, and it sounds a bit desperate. "How fucked up is that? Who would have thought, huh? That we'd both end up here? I guess we're both too stupid to even die right."

Steve doesn't like how bitter Bucky sounds, like being alive is part of some cosmic joke—but it's not exactly like he's never had similar thoughts himself, and all he'd done the last seven decades was sleep. 

"How much do you remember?" he asks cautiously. "I know you've been taking out the HYDRA bases, but, how much of before—and—"

Bucky takes pity on him, and answers without making Steve fully ask. "I remember everything, before the train," he says. "The after, it's different. I can remember most of it, but all the faces in my memory are blurry. It's like I was only seeing the world in black in white." He looks towards the skyline. "But I remember what I learned. The skills they taught me. They're all up in here." He taps his head with a rueful grin. "It makes me dangerous, Steve. Even I'm terrified of what I'm capable of."

"You're not responsible for the things they made you do," Steve promises. "It's not your fault." 

"I got my memories all back a couple weeks after I left you on the shore of the Potomac," Bucky says. "I haven't gone a day without killing since." 

"Bucky—" Steve starts.

"It's pretty much all I’m good for, anymore," he continues. "But at least I'm hitting the right targets these days, right?" 

"You don't have to do this," Steve says. "It's not your responsibility to take down HYDRA single handedly. I can help." 

"Look, that's sort of why I'm here," Bucky says, as he glances over at Steve. "Cause the best way for you to help is to stay here." 

"What?" Steve asks in disbelief. 

"You've got to stop following me," Bucky explains. "It's getting dangerous, for us both. I can't keep hanging around between targets just to make sure you don't get yourself killed, I need to—" 

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Steve asks in confusion. "What do you mean?" 

"Steve," Bucky says. His voice is that same tone of fond exasperation Bucky always used to get when Steve got into fights without him. 

"No," Steve snaps. "No, you're not going anywhere. Not now that I've just gotten you back." 

"No one is safe while HYDRA is still out there, you especially," Bucky snaps. "And with SHIELD down—we're more vulnerable than ever. They have to be stopped." 

'"So we'll stop them," Steve says. "We'll do it together." 

"I can't have you there," Bucky says firmly. "I can't protect you if you're there, because I can't even trust _myself_ not to hurt you. Please. I need you to stop." 

It's so ridiculous Steve hardly knows how to argue against him. He's Captain America—he's a role model for an entire country, seen as invincible, as unstoppable. But he's only ever been Steve to Bucky, even during the war. Steve who only ever grew half as much as him, and had trouble breathing in the night. Steve who never walked away from a fight even when he never won a single one. 

Even now Bucky can't seem to shake the way they'd been. 

"You don't have to protect me," Steve says softly. "It's not your job anymore, I can take care of myself. It's my turn to take care of you." 

"It's too late for me," he says, and his gentle tone makes Steve inexplicably angry. He's so sick of Bucky always being gentle with him, of always trying to save him. All their lives, every time Steve was hurt, Bucky has saved him. 

Every time Bucky was hurt, he was hurt saving Steve. 

"No, it isn't," Steve says firmly. "I'm not going to lose you again." 

"Steve, I'm sorry," Bucky says. "But you never got me back in the first place." 

Steve watches Bucky carefully, sure he has an escape planned. He wouldn't have chosen this roof on a whim. And he was right that he couldn't go walking through the Smithsonian looking like he did—he'd cause a riot. Which means he has a way off the roof. 

He remembers chasing him after Fury was shot in his apartment. The way he's just stepped off the edge and disappeared. 

"You don't have to run anymore," Steve pleads. 

"I have to do this alone," Bucky says. "I just wanted to say goodbye. We never really got goodbye, you know. Not to each other. Not to anyone else. So I thought we deserved it." 

"You can keep your goodbye," Steve says. "I'm not letting you leave." 

Bucky sighs. "I don't want to fight you." 

"Good, because I don't either," he says. "Whatever you need to do, we can do it together. Okay? We'll do it together." 

"I can't risk getting you killed," Bucky insists, shaking his head in frustration. "There's no coming back from this, okay? I'm not going anywhere you can follow this time." 

It's all the confirmation Steve needs that Bucky doesn't plan to make it out of this alive. The bitterness as he mentioned being here, the reckless ways he's been walking into HYDRA bases alone. He's not trying to destroy them all—he's just trying to take as many down with him as he can. 

"I'm sorry," Bucky says. "Stay safe." 

That's all the warning Steve has before Bucky is running. He steps right off the edge of the building, and Steve can feel his heart drop out of him as he nearly throws himself over the edge himself. He leans over the side and only starts breathing again when he sees that Bucky's grabbed onto one of the windows below them with his metal hand. Then he just lets go, falling to a graceful crouch the rest of the way down. 

He looks up and tosses him another one of those grins. "Guess I’m taking the stupid with me this time, huh?" Bucky calls up to him, but his voice gives his regret away. 

He doesn't wait around for Steve to respond though, he just takes off running again, slipping behind the next building and out of sight. Steve takes a deep breath and then he backs up, takes off running and jumps across the roof to the next building. He runs straight across it, catching sight of Bucky disappearing into the next alley. He turns without stopping, hopping across to the next building without ever slowing down. 

He sees Iron Man blasting through the air above him, and Sam appears on his other side. "He's going right," Tony calls to him. 

Steve can't even be mad at them for showing up, he just does as he's told, jumping across to yet another building before finally spotting Bucky again. He signals Falcon and Iron Man, and they push on ahead before circling back. Closing Bucky in. 

Steve reaches the edge of the building and just keeps running off, dropping into a roll once he hits the pavement and just pushing right back to his feet. He sees Bucky pull to a stop in front of him, backing up as Iron Man appears at the other end of the alley. 

Bucky's not even breathing hard. He looks like he could have kept running through all of DC. Steve's not used to trying to keep up with someone as fast as him. 

"This is cheating," Bucky says, glancing behind him. 

"I never said I came alone," Steve shrugs, and watches Bucky carefully. He's seen Bucky bring down Sam without even looking—and if that arm of his could hold back his shield, he's pretty sure it could do more than a bit of damage to Tony's suit. 

If Bucky decides to fight he's not sure even all three of them together can keep him here. 

He hears the small tell-tale metal whir of Bucky's metal knuckles closing, and tenses, getting ready—but then Tony flips back his mask and leans up against the wall, grinning over at Bucky like he's the best thing since sliced bread. 

"Don't you clean up nice," Tony says. "It's not like the rest of the Avengers are exactly vying to be Quasimodo look-alikes, but wow, seriously, you're just ridiculously attractive. I might actually feel threatened right now. I think this is a first." 

Steve glares at him, because is Tony actually flirting, right now? "Tony," he hisses, but even as he does, he realizes that Tony has managed to completely diffuse the situation in that particular way only he ever can.

"What? He is!" Tony cries defensively. "It's one thing to see pictures, but the real thing is a whole other thing. It's not like it's some state secret! He knows he's attractive!" 

"It's okay, he's right," Bucky shrugs. "I do clean up pretty damn nice." 

Sam drops down beside him with a worried frown. "Why do I get the feeling these two are going to be trouble together?" 

"We're not going to be together," Bucky says, turning his sharp eyes on Sam. "I was actually just on my way. And I really don't think you want to try to stop me." 

Steve only has a minute to sort through his options here. He had been completely prepared to capture the Winter Soldier, and hold him against his will if necessary. Doing that same thing to Bucky is something else entirely, and Steve knows he doesn't have the right. Bucky's had his choices taken from him for the last seventy years, and he'd be no better than his previous handlers if he forced him into anything now. 

But that didn't mean he could just let him go. 

"No, we won't stop you," Steve says. 

Bucky looks up at him in surprise and Tony clears his throat, raising one hand. "Really?" Tony asks. "Because that's kind of what I thought was going on here too." 

Steve ignores Tony. "You're free to leave," he tells Bucky. "Of course you are." 

"Okay, good," Bucky says warily. "That's good." 

"But I'm going to follow you," he continues. "Wherever you go, I'm going to follow. Till the end of the line." 

Bucky stares back at him angrily, but Steve can see beneath it. He's helpless and frustrated and Steve hates that he's doing this to him. He just doesn't have any other choice. 

"Fine," Bucky says, and his emotionless tone is the first remnant of the Winter Soldier that Steve's seen. "I'll stick around for awhile, okay? Just for now." 

"Where are you staying?" Sam asks. 

"He's going to be staying with me," Steve says at once. 

"I don't think that's a good idea," Bucky says. He steps back and brushes a hand through his hair, avoiding his eyes. It's such a Bucky sort of thing to do that Steve thinks his heart might actually shatter. "Steve, I didn't—I just came to make sure you were alright, and to ask you to stop following me before you get yourself killed. It can't be—it's not like it was before, alright?" 

"Well, I for one would hate to see you go before we even get properly introduced," Tony interrupts, stepping forward to hold out his hand. "I was a big fan. Captain America was always a bit goody goody for me, couldn't relate. But you, now you were cool." 

"Hey," Steve protests lightly, but he forgets any thought of further protest when the comment startles a laugh out of Bucky. 

It's been years since he's heard Bucky laugh. It's probably been seventy years since he's laughed like that. 

"I was told you were supposed to be smart," Bucky says wryly, catching Tony's hand in a firm shake. 

"I was told you were psychotic," Tony says. 

"Tony!" Steve says in horror, but Bucky just laughs lightly again, though his eyes are cooler than they were before, more calculating. They shine a bit like they've been varnished. 

"I wasn't actually psychotic," he amends. "I wasn't anything, really." 

"Well, you were pretty bad ass, I can't say I'm not glad to see you're on our side now," Tony says. "I'd love to get a look at that arm. Don't think I haven't noticed that you're not moving it much." 

Steve startles, turning to run his eyes over the disguised metal arm. Steve hadn't noticed, and he swallows thickly, worried now what the jacket might be hiding. 

"What did you do it?" Tony asks, with his usual lack of tact. 

"It still works fine. It's just a bit of water damage," Bucky says, very carefully not meeting Steve's eyes. 

"What, did they make you out of tin?" Tony asks, looking slightly horrified. "I have about twelve different waterproof alloys stacked up around my coffee table, and those aren't even the ones that won't freeze." 

"Mine doesn't freeze," Bucky says carefully, and what he doesn't mention is how he knows. "They gave me a recent upgrade, added a power cell to the joint to increase my power. The water burnt out the reserves. I have to give it a jump every few days, keep it running."

"You've been giving yourself a jumpstart," Tony says, sounding caught between being impressed and horrified. "That's…creative, but unnecessarily complicated. How'd you like an upgrade?" 

Bucky looks over at Steve, and Steve supposes his eyes must be huge and hopeful because Bucky just sighs and gives Tony a nod. "It's worth a look to see what you've got, I guess," he says. 

"Ha, I've got things like you wouldn't believe," Tony says. "I've got things that'll make this arm of yours look like a chew toy for Zoomer the Robot Dog. And seeing as you're pushing a century and all, I'll even give you the senior's discount." 

Tony starts leading Bucky casually out of the alley, but not before glancing back at Steve with a wink. Steve feels sickly, helplessly grateful. Of course it's just like Tony, finding a way to help even while he's helping himself.


End file.
